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South Korea GDP growth hits 5-year high in Q3

Shoppers stand at a food stall in the Myeongdong shopping district in this photograph taken with a tilt-shift lens in Seoul, South Korea, on July 18, 2015.

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

[SEOUL] South Korea's economy grew at the fastest pace in more than five years in the third quarter, driven by a strong rebound in consumer spending, central bank data showed Thursday.

Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded by 1.3 per cent in the July-September period, the fastest on-quarter growth since the second quarter of 2010, the Bank of Korea said.

The quarter saw consumers venture back into shopping malls as the threat posed by a serious outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) receded.

Thirty-six people died in the outbreak, during which local businesses including shopping malls, restaurants and cinemas reported a sharp drop in sales as people shunned public venues with large crowds.